Vegan "Shrimp" Sandwiches, Kousherie, and Peas.

I apologize for posting last night's meal so late (that is, a day later -- ahem!).  Can I let you in on a little secret?  Yesterday was my birthday, so I spent the day as a lady of leisure -- volunteering, swimming, chatting on the phone with old friends.  As a result, I was feeling SO leisurely that I didn't even fool with writing a blog post!  I was thinking of you, though, as I cooked, and felt you might like the menu.  So here it is!

Since it was my birthday, I decided to tackle a few of my favorite foods, beginning with a vegetarian version of the shrimp sandwich I used to love at this restaurant named Harry's, down on the Gulf Coast in a little town called Carrabelle.  I used the breaded vegan shrimp from Sophie's Kitchen, and it turned out just beautifully!  I was going to get fancy and mix up an Old Bay Aioli, but I neglected to remember that I had no Old Bay in the house.  (I hope this memory lapse isn't a sign of old age!)  So once the shrimp was baked and the buns were toasted, we simply topped our sandwiches with some Vegenaise and lettuce and called it a day.  The end result was just like I remembered from Harry's!  We piled our sandwiches high with shrimp, so there was protein in every bite, and the lettuce gave us a little crunch.  (And I'll try the Old Bay aioli another time.)

Alongside the sandwiches, I whipped up a big batch of kousherie, with a few modifications from the recipe I've just linked to -- we used macaroni instead of spaghetti, for instance, and I boiled the lentils along with the pasta.  Also, instead of making a big pot of rice, I simply warmed up two packets of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice and added them to the mixture before serving!

The peas were a wonderful addition to our plates; English peas are some of my very favorite veggies, and we mowed down the whole pot.  Plus, they added some much-needed greenery to our surf-and-carb meal!

We paired our dinner with a bottle of Flying Dog Dead Rise, a beer brewed with -- what else? -- Old Bay.  Don't recoil in horror; it's actually a very subtle seasoning in this brew, and we love the end result.  It was a fitting way to toast a wonderful day!

:)